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Tag Archives: New Year

I’ve been neglecting the blog of late, but thought I’d at least get in a final post before a doddering 2017 shuffles off into the wings, and a brash young 2018 leaps onto the stage, all bright-eyed and bushy of tail.

I don’t know if there will be any more halfbananas next year, it’s future – like the fate of the crocoduck – is uncertain.

It’s been an odd year and not just numerically. At times it almost felt like we’d slipped into a parallel dimension where up is down, black is white and a maniacal clown occupies the Oval Office, spewing ignorance and misinformation every time he speaks or tweets.

The UK is a sorry mess, tribalism, polarisation and scapegoating continue to dominate global politics and there seems precious little to instill much optimism for the year ahead. But it’s not all doom and gloom. I’m sure if you dig a little deeper there are things to inspire hope and cheer up even the grumpiest misanthrope. I just can’t think of many examples right now.

Whatever your goals and aspirations for the new year, I wish you peace, happiness and in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln: ‘Be excellent to each other. And… PARTY ON, DUDES!‘

Here I present my New Year resolutions and goals for 2018

Get more exorcism

Drink sensibly (eg not out of a clown shoe while wearing a false moustache)

New year’s eve is often a time of reflection and even regret, as well as anticipation and hope for the year to come. But we can only live in the present, so as a great sage once said:

“Be not afraid for the future or regretful of the past, for the past was once the future, and the future will soon be the present, until it quickly becomes the past, again. In this way there is no past, present or future. Or something.”

Wise words indeed and ones we can all easily choose to ignore.

We lost many wonderful people in 2016, including some personal heroes like David Bowie. I suspect we also lost a bit of faith in human nature, with the UK’s Brexit debacle and the US presidential election demonstrating once again how the masses can be manipulated by ruthless sociopaths and morally bankrupt media organisations to vote against their own best interests. We now live in a post-truth world we are told, although I’m not sure if that is true or not.

Once again It’s that time when folks everywhere gather together to celebrate the start of a new year with alcohol and explosives, the perfect match.

There are many strange and interesting customs, traditions and superstitions associated with this event. Some don lucky underwear to see in the new year (South America) others dress up as bears (Romania) or throw their old household items out of the window to make room for new stuff (Parts of Italy and South Africa).

In Denmark folks dutifully listen to the Queen’s speech on TV, then later watch an old black and white comedy skit from the UK – Dinner for one. This ancient piece of booze-related slapstick features just two characters – a posh lady and her butler – and shows that the Danes and indeed others in parts of Scandinavia and Germany, love nothing more that the collision of upper class formality and extreme drunkenness.Continue reading →